Index Archive

19 January 2017

In Depth Bollywood Actor Salman Khan Acquitted in Arms Act Case A Jodhpur court has pronounced its verdict on the 19-year-old Arms Act case. Bollywood actor Salman Khan, who was accused of carrying fire-arms with expired license during a hunting trip in 1998, has been acquitted of all charges.

Prosecution counsel B S Bhati said that they would appeal against the acquittal in the sessions court after studying the judgement.

Without reading the certified copy of judgement it is very difficult to comment or analyze on any case.I tried to find the copy but no one has uploaded the certified copy of judgement.If you got the link just mention it in comment and give the link.Its duty of the media to upload the certified copies of Judgment on their websites as they debate on the case and his acquittal.

The case under the Arms Act is one of the four cases against the actor. While the Rajasthan High Court has acquitted him in two cases of poaching of chinkara, trial in the third case of alleged poaching of two blackbucks is on.

So exactly what happened in this case Arms Act Case.

The case involves the alleged killing of a deer when the 51-year-actor and his co-stars - Saif Ali Khan, Sonali Bendre, Neelam and Tabu - were shooting for 'Hum Saath Saath Hain' in the forests near Jodhpur in 1998.

As per media reports minister of environment and forest whose department had lodged FIRs against Salman Khan got few acting assignments for herself and got her daughter to sing in films Not only this Salman Khan danced on the streets of Jaipur at a wedding in the minister’s family.

As per media reports Jodhpur villagers had caught him flagrante delicto (busy in the act) and had chased the star and his companions out of Jodhpur forests.

October 15, 1998 – Gordhan Singh, a then forest guard, files FIR at Luni police station accusing Salman Khan and his companions of killing black bucks on the intervening night of October 1-2, 1998 in Kankani. Later, investigations reveal Salman Khan had sent his licensed weapons to Mumbai. Police call for the weapons from Mumbai and seize them. Case registered against Salman under sections 3/25 and 3/27 of the Arms Act.

July 28, 2000 – Police file charge-sheet against Salman under the Arms Act.

The police and the Forest Department had claimed that Mr. Salman Khan was in possession of illegal arms, with expired licenses, which he had used to hunt two black bucks on October 1 and 2, 1998, in Kankani village on the outskirts of Jodhpur.

Salman's 0.22 rifle and 0.32 revolver had expired licenses and cases were filed under Sections 3/25 and 3/27. The maximum sentence in Section 3/25 is usually three years while Section 3/27 has seven years as the maximum sentence.

In a 102-page long order, the chief judicial magistrate Dalpat Singh Rajpurohit ruled that possession and use of fire arms with expired license by Salman could not be proved by the prosecution.

The order said that the license of Salman’s arms in question was valid for 3 years till 8/8/99 and at the time of alleged poaching, it was just not renewed, which did not mean, it was expired.

"For this condition, the license holder should submit his arms with the police, failing which, he should be prosecuted under section 21 of Arms Act instead of sections 3/25 and 27." The court clearly ruled that Salman’s license was not expired during the poaching as argued by the prosecution counsel but it was just not renewed.

The court also said that it was only the license, which was invalid then, not his arms, and therefore he could not be prosecuted under section 3 but 21 of Arms Act, which was not the case here

Such cases happen because FIR and Charge Sheet is not prepared properly.Once loopholes are created in that any good lawyer can say that in future accused will get acquitted.

India needs police reforms until that such cases will come and such results judgements will keep happening.